The ultimate 360 degree feedback guide: Examples and template

Many businesses recognise the importance of conducting staff appraisals. However, the process is not always well-received due to common inefficiencies and bias.

The 360 degree feedback system addresses these issues and complements performance appraisals by providing well-rounded feedback.

In this guide, we’ll explain the advantages and perceived disadvantages of 360 degree feedback, how to overcome common challenges, and provide you with the tools needed to revolutionise performance management in your organisation.

Here’s what we cover:

What is 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is a tool used to gather thorough, anonymous information about an employee. This process provides a holistic view of an individual’s work performance from multiple sources, including:

• Managers
• Peers
• Direct reports
• Customers
• Internal staff.

The 360 degree feedback assessment, also known as multi-source or multi-rater feedback, includes a self-assessment component that encourages employees to reflect on their contributions and set goals.

Overall, this approach helps individuals better understand both how they see themselves and how others perceive them, providing valuable developmental insights.

By using performance appraisal software, you can get deeper insights into your employees’ strengths and weaknesses.

The 360 degree feedback method

Like many processes in business, the outcome is only as good as the method.

Systematically creating a 360 degree feedback template with thoughtful questions, distributing it to the appropriate people, and ensuring timely feedback are all essential.

The method for implementing a 360 degree feedback process and receiving company-wide feedback should include a robust performance management software solution to help you quickly gather and organise responses.

Here are the 7 steps to the 360 feedback method

• Step 1: Create a feedback template that includes questions related to core competencies.
• Step 2: Distribute the questionnaire to relevant participants.
• Step 3: Collect feedback from the designated sources (managers, peers, direct reports, etc).
• Step 4: Analyse the feedback to identify strengths, weaknesses, and behavioural patterns.
• Step 5: Aggregate the data into a comprehensive report.
• Step 6: Deliver the summarised information to individuals and use it to foster self-awareness.
• Step 7: Create and implement action plans for professional development to improve workplace performance.

360 degree feedback vs employee evaluation

Performance appraisals come in many shapes and sizes, but 360 degree feedback differs from traditional employee appraisals and evaluations in that its insights are focused on employee development.

It offers an honest review aimed at helping individuals grow in their careers rather than just evaluating their performance.

In contrast, employee evaluations typically focus on recognising the achievement of specific goals, often resulting in rewards, raises, and other forms of recognition.

The key difference between 360 degree feedback and employee evaluations is that the latter is not anonymous. The person being evaluated knows who is providing the feedback, which can introduce bias or fear of creating workplace tension.

Additionally, 360 degree feedback can be used as valuable input for performance reviews.

What is the most important benefit of 360 degree feedback?

The continuous nature of 360 degree feedback offers tremendous benefits for businesses looking to invest in their employees and foster self-awareness within the organisation.

The most important benefit is the value of receiving feedback from a variety of sources at different levels, providing a comprehensive view of an employee’s performance and areas for improvement.

360 degree feedback is an innovative tool that tracks progress over time, contributing to organisational growth by aligning individuals with business objectives.

360 degree feedback enhances leadership development, increases employee engagement, and helps teams address recurring challenges.

For the process to be effective, contributors must trust that their feedback will be anonymous and won’t lead to backlash.

A trusted, anonymous process creates a safe environment, ensuring that feedback results in actionable outcomes, such as targeted training and development.

How do I create a 360 degree feedback form?

To create an effective 360 degree feedback form, identify the key competencies and behaviours you want to assess.

Craft targeted questions that gather meaningful feedback from multiple raters, such as managers, peers, and direct reports.

Below are the steps to guide you through the process:

1. Set clear goals

Define the purpose of the 360 degree feedback form. Are you aiming to close talent gaps, improve leadership skills, or identify strengths and weaknesses?

Setting clear goals will guide the design process and help tailor the questions to achieve the desired outcomes.

2. Choose key competencies

In addition to basic competencies such as communication, respect for others, teamwork, and accountability, consider including other key competencies aligned with your organisation’s goals.

These could include:

• Leadership: assess an individual’s ability to inspire, motivate, and guide others.
• Problem-solving: evaluate how effectively they identify and address challenges.
• Adaptability: measure their ability to adjust to change and remain flexible.
• Decision-making: assess their ability to make informed and timely decisions.
• Time management: evaluate how well they prioritise tasks and manage their workload.
• Conflict resolution: measure their ability to resolve disputes and maintain harmony within the team.
• Emotional intelligence: assess their ability to understand, manage emotions, and empathise.
• Creativity and innovation: evaluate their ability to contribute new ideas and solutions.
• Customer focus: measure how well they meet the needs and concerns of clients or customers.
• Collaboration: assess their ability to work effectively with others and build positive relationships.

When included in your feedback form, these competencies provide a well-rounded view of the individual’s performance and interpersonal skills, making the feedback more valuable and complete.

3. Create a rating system

Implement a consistent rating system to streamline the feedback process.

Options include a 1-10 scale, a Likert scale (such as strongly agree to strongly disagree), or a frequency scale (such as rarely versus all the time).

A solid rating system allows you to measure feedback in a structured way and compare responses more easily.

Note: When designing your form, it’s important to balance both quantitative and qualitative feedback methods:

• Quantitative feedback (such as ratings) provides measurable data that is useful for tracking progress and identifying patterns
• Qualitative feedback (such as open-ended questions) provides deeper insights into specific behaviours, situations, and examples, offering context to the ratings.

Combining both methods ensures you gather comprehensive, actionable feedback.

4. Ask clear, direct questions

Formulate simple, straightforward questions to minimise confusion.

Avoid vague or overly complex wording.

Focus on specific behaviours that are easy to assess, such as, “How often does the individual actively listen in meetings?”

This will ensure the feedback is actionable and precise.

For example:

Quantitative: “On a scale of 1-10, how well does this person manage their time?”

Qualitative: “Can you provide an example of how this individual demonstrated leadership in a challenging situation?”

5. Determine the length

Keep the feedback form concise to prevent survey fatigue and ensure respondents remain engaged.

Remember, your workforce may be completing this survey multiple times for multiple people, so it’s important to respect their time.

The do’s and don’ts of creating a 360 degree feedback form

Do’s:

• Focus on one behaviour at a time to ensure each question addresses singular conduct to avoid confusion.
• Align questions with key competencies relevant to the individual’s role and development.
• Make feedback actionable by framing questions in a way that helps the employee understand areas they can work on.

Don’ts:

• Don’t combine multiple questions into one, as this can confuse raters.
• Don’t include jargon or complex terms. Keep the language simple and subjective.
• Don’t ignore cultural sensitivities and avoid questions that are hard to interpret, biased, or difficult for all participants to understand.
• Don’t include vague or irrelevant questions to the key competencies for an individual’s role.

What are some good 360 feedback questions? (With examples)

As you carefully pick 360 degree feedback questions, focus on the key competencies that reflect the individual’s role, skills, and potential for growth.

These questions are designed to elicit specific, actionable feedback, helping employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Each question must match the individual’s role to make feedback valuable and relevant.

Here are some examples of practical 360 degree feedback questions based on core competencies:

Leadership

• How effectively does this individual inspire and motivate others to achieve their goals?
• Can you provide examples of how this person demonstrates leadership in challenging situations?

Problem-solving

• On a scale from 1-10, how well does this person identify and address challenges in their work?
• Has this individual contributed any innovative solutions to complex problems? If so, please provide an example.

Adaptability

• How well does this person adjust to changes in the workplace?
• Strongly agree to strongly disagree: this person demonstrates flexibility when priorities change.

Decision-making

• How effective is this individual at making informed and timely decisions?
• Can you describe a situation where this person made a decision that positively impacted the team or project?

Time management

• How well does this individual prioritise tasks and manage deadlines?
• Strongly agree to strongly disagree: this person can handle multiple tasks effectively.

Conflict resolution

• On a scale of 1-10, how well does this individual handle conflicts or disagreements within the team?
• Can you provide an example where this person helped resolve a dispute between team members or colleagues?

Emotional intelligence

• How effectively does this person manage their own emotions in stressful situations?
• How well does this individual empathise with others and maintain positive relationships in the workplace?

Creativity and innovation

• How often does this individual offer creative ideas to improve processes or solve problems?
• Can you give an example where this person introduced a new idea or innovation that benefited the team or organisation?

Customer/client focus

• Strongly agree to strongly disagree: this individual goes above and beyond to meet a client’s expectations.
• Can you explain how this individual went above and beyond to meet a client’s expectations?

Collaboration

• On a scale of 1-10, how well does this individual collaborate with others to achieve team goals?
• Can you recall a situation where this person actively supported team members in completing a shared project or task?

How often should 360 degree feedback be used? (Best practices)

It’s a best practice to require peer reviews from people who have worked together for at least three to six months. This allows them to provide more accurate feedback, having experienced the individual in different settings, teams, and scenarios.

Furthermore, annual 360 degree feedback should be conducted to monitor progress, with follow-through steps to ensure the feedback is acted upon.

360 degree follow-up

Once feedback is collected, thank your workforce for their participation and reaffirm the purpose of the 360 degree feedback process.

Schedule a constructive conversation with each individual to discuss their feedback and create a personalised development plan.

Continuously monitor progress, provide ongoing support, and reassess improvement to ensure sustained growth.